Prenatal Class with Adventist Hospital Penang.

I am so sorry if most of my posts are now related to baby, pregnancy or baby. Heh. It's the season now you know. Heh.

Okaylah, I not very sorry la. I enjoy these things now. Next thing could be cooking or something I don't know. Hah.

Anyways, we signed up for Adventist Hospital's Prenatal Class and paid RM159 per couple for 4 sessions in the span of a week. It was all his idea to attend these classes as he had no experience whatsoever in taking charge of a tiny human being. Neither do I actually, but I did helped my sister with her two kids when they were born and I sort of know what to do and stuff. Hah.

Here are the sessions and what they are about:

Session 1 (5-hours with light lunch provided)

• Healthy pre and postnatal diet
• Breastfeeding benefits and techniques
• Baby bath demonstration
• Tour of maternity ward (3-bedded, 2-bedded, private room and VIP room - under renovation)

Session 2 (2-hours with a cinnamon roll and a box of organic soya bean juice)

• Care of baby at birth
• Pain relief methods in labor

Session 3 (2-hours with a red bean bun and a box of organic soya bean juice)

• Antenatal care
• Development of baby
• Screening of fetal abnormalities
• Changes during pregnancy
• Complications during pregnancy
• Labor and delivery

Session 4 (2-hours with no refreshments - bring own pillow day)

• Prenatal and relaxation exercises
• Breathing techniques in labor

Also, one thing that excites us and we so look forward to everytime we have a class is the freebies they gave out. We will always try to guess what they will give us because it's different everytime. Once, they gave us a bag with a green-box-thing missing in there - we know because Koay was eyeing on other couples and they were all taking photos of it and then we realized we need to ask for it also! #kiasuparentslailiau

I told him that since I am carrying his child, he should take that walk to the registration table and asked for the missing 'gift'. Haha and he did with his face being all shy and red. Heh.

We received so many types of diapers from various brands, food items that are good for mothers-to-be and some baby items like bibs and mittens.

Most mothers-to-be in our classes are in their second trimester and onwards - only a few in their third trimester and probably one 1 couple who is very near to their due date.

I would recommend mothers-to-be to go during their second trimester so you know these useful information much earlier. For example, like the correct techniques for your husband to learn to massage you every night before bedtime or the kind of food that you should take that is good for you and the baby.

Of course you can get these information online, but it's somehow different when you and your partner hears it in person from the pro themselves.

Highly recommended.

Some couples registered for this Prenatal Class although their usual check-ups are not in this hospital so I guess Adventist Hospital must be quite famous for their Prenatal Class. Heh.

Till then, bye now. 

Bumpfit Maternity Fitness Leggings.

I am currently eight months plus pregnant (35-weeks to be exact) and one thing that is not a friend of mine, is the hot weather.

No matter where I go or what I do, sweating is inevitable.

Once I start sweating, my cranky mood will soon follow, so I really try my best to do whatever it takes to avoid me from sweating.

The pregnancy hot flashes happen even in a very well air-conditioned restaurant okay so it's just super unavoidable.

Because of that, I rarely wear leggings or pregnancy jeans out. VERY RARELY. I prefer to wear dress.

Then, I got this leggings from Bumpfit Maternity Fitness Leggings and upon touching it's fabric, I was pretty convinced that this will be the kind that does not keep the heat in - if that makes sense to you. I needed to find a suitable occasion to try it on. I said find occasion because like I mentioned earlier, I really don't wear pants out to avoid sweating. Heh.

There were 2 events that were coming up which I thought was going to be good to try this legging out - full day 9am-6pm Pastors' Prayer Gathering and Pre & Post Pregnancy Exercise Session by our Adventist Hospital's Antenatal Class.

Even though I sweat easily now, I was still afraid that it may get too cold for me in the church settings since we would be in there the whole entire time, and FGA NZ is known to have the coldest air conditioning - and it did. It kept me fairly warm the entire day.

Also, I was hoping that this leggings would allow me to move around everywhere comfortably - not that I was going to do a split and big movements but I do want to feel like it doesn't limit me in my moving around.

I do have a number of pregnancy leggings that are not so stretchy and becomes super uncomfortable and sticky after a while.

Also, one thing I like about this Bumpfit Maternity Fitness leggings is that its length is very chun-chun. The one I got from H&M was so long that I had to fold it every time I put them on - so that's not really my favorite.

So, I wore it again to our Antenatal Class and no regrets whatsoever.

Super stretchy and I feel that it enables my legs to breathe. Serious. I hate it when leggings start to get wet (because of sweat) and then it just sticks to the skin - super annoying.

This one does not give me that - at all - surprisingly.

When I first heard of the price, I was shocked to be honest.

I felt that this price is really too expensive for a pair of leggings, but after trying them out (two times), I think I would recommend it to mommies-to-be because if you are someone who really gets annoyed with the hot weather and always only wear dresses because of that, you should give this a try.

Throughout my pregnancy, I always try to find ways to make it a comfortable one so I feel this money is worth spending okay.

On a side note, I recently found out from Cheeserland's Instagram about how comfortable Uniqlo bra is and how she (and many other mothers) so strongly support it - so I went ahead and got one for myself although I haven't started breastfeeding okay.

Highly recommended also because Uniqlo bras are super comfortable and gives really good support even though they are wireless. I only got one nude color and I may (anytime soon) gonna get 1 in all their available colors. Heh.

GO GET ONE AND TRY PLEASE.

Okay, that's all for now.

Till then, bye now.

Who Wants to Buy a BabyZen Yoyo+ Stroller?

UPDATE: THE HUSBAND HAD MANAGED TO CONVINCED ME NOT TO SELL THIS OFF (EVEN THOUGH I COULD MAKE GOOD USE OF THE MONEY EARNED FROM THIS), AND TO KEEP IT FOR OUR FUTURE CHILD. I GAVE IN AFTER MANY ROUNDS OF CONVINCING. SORRY FOR THOSE WHO IS STILL ASKING ABOUT THIS! 

BRAND NEW BABYZEN YOYO+ 6+ STROLLER UP FOR GRABS!

Yes, I am selling this precious stroller and I only have 1 of this so first come, first serve okay.

First of all, thank you BabyZen for this gift (technically I've won it but anyways), and no this is not a sponsored post please. Heh. 

Here's a story of how I am now a temporary owner of this BabyZen Yoyo+ stroller. 

Months ago, I submitted a few entrees on the monthly Women's weekly magazine which includes free hotel stay-cation, a set of very luxury looking perfumes, expensive baby stroller (that we will never buy) and others. I actually forgot about the whole thing until..

I received this email.

Yassss. I was so excited when I received this email because it's like a dream (mother-kind of dream) comes true. 

Of course I went to google it, check the photos, read the reviews and I knew it. KNEW THAT THIS WAS THE PERFECT STROLLER ESPECIALLY FOR TRAVELLING. Heh. 

Not a big fan of blue color but will take it anyways! :)

This is not my first time of winning in the monthly Women's Weekly mini competitions actually. I've won quite a handful of items so it is very addictive to always buy Women's Weekly magazine and fill up the mini forms on the last part of the magazine, then send it to the address given (in KL). 

So, yes, highly recommended to join because chances to win something is pretty high. Heh. 

Anyways, the main purpose of this post is because we would like to sell this precious prize away! I know right. 

We don't have a baby now, and for this stroller to lie around in the house is just pure waste. Might as well we sell it off to someone who can find joy in using them for their baby at a discounted price!

According to Lazada (and BabyZen themselves), the market price for this stroller is RM 2,499.00! Well, obviously I will give you discounts if you buy it from me because we're friends and because you are spending time reading this. 

With the amount of money that you invest on this, you (and your baby and your spouse) will get to enjoy a very convenient life and here are some reasons why.

DESCRIPTIONS

• Babyzen Yoyo+ folds and unfolds and is carried like a bag.
• Easily stored 
• One hand folding

• Its backrest can be inclined to 145° in several positions.
• Comes with a rain shield that covers the canopy as well
• Features comfortable padding with a 5-point harness.
• XXL storage basket

• 4-wheels suspension
• Perfect for travelling purposes
• Very lightweight (6.2 kg)
• Can be taken as a hand carry luggage by most airlines in the world
• Multi-purpose all-in-one (additional purchase to fix on the stroller)
• Car seat (their website has a list of brands that is compatible to this stroller)
• Yoyo+ Board (for tired toddlers who refuse to sit)
• 0+ Newborn pack 

REVIEWS

For more, click here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I carry the Yoyo+ when it's folded?

Thanks to its comfortable padded shoulder strap, you can carry it like a bag, for example when your child wants to walk, or by hand, using the chrome handle. And when you unfold the YOYO+, the shoulder strap automatically slips into the basket.

Can I really board the plane with my Yoyo+?

 Absolutely!
 

How do I secure the front wheels for 'soft road' use?

You no longer need to block the front wheels on your YOYO+! Its wheels are equipped with the patented "Soft-Drive" system, which eliminates speed wobbles on rough terrain.

Does the Yoyo+ have a brake?

Yes, in its "push-push" mode, which has an even simpler pedal design.

What materials is the Yoyo+ made of?

With an aluminum frame and wheel axles, stainless steel and high performance technical plastics, all of its materials can be recycled. Without any plastic wrapping, our cardboard packaging is recycled and printed with soy-based inks.

Are the fabrics washable?
Yes, of course, all YOYO+ fabrics can easily be taken off and machine washed at 30°C.

Can I change colors easily?

Yes, 6+ and 0+ color packs are sold separately, so you can change colors whenever you like. All 0+ and 6+ fabrics are interchangeable on all YOYO frames (YOYO and YOYO+), except on frames that are incompatible with non-reversible seats.

PRICE AFTER DISCOUNT

RM 2,499  ---->   RM 2,000 only!

Good deal yes?

That's 20% savings for you okay.

Okaylah, add on two (2) Yeo's new Chrysanthemum and Lo Han Kuo box drinks for you, okay?

And free delivery for you (only in Malaysia though). Heh.

Please feel free to email me or reach out to me on Facebook if you are interested to get this precious baby okay. It's definitely a must-have if you love travelling and you want to continue to enjoy your travels alongside with your baby (ies).

Cannot wait to hear from you all soon!

Oh oh and if you do not have any interest in this (because you don't have a kid of your own yet), please help me share this post to your friends, colleagues, mothers-to-be because I would really love to sell this off!

Okay?

Be a kind soul pleaseeeee :)

Till then, bye now. 

The Fun Way to Learn - Chumbaka Asia.

"We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the more pressing task is to teach people how to learn." 

(Peter F. Drucker)

If I may choose a quote which I think describes Chumbaka best, it would definitely be this.

What is Chumbaka?

It's not a fruit and it's not an ethnic cheer (if you say it a lot of times).

Chumbaka is a program that focuses on re-igniting humans', little humans' if I may add, the passion to learn that's already in them.

It's different from what children learn in school, where they sit behind a desk and often times forces themselves to remember and memorize facts and details of the subjects.

With Chumbaka, we allow them to have the hands-on where they do not only hear or see of the subject, but they will experience the reality of the project.

Chumbaka focuses on technology because 9 out of 10 children nowadays know how to use an iPad better than their parents, or aunties and definitely grandparents. 

In my case, Sha Lynn definitely knows more shortcuts on the iPad than me or Vanessa. We were impressed by her and of what we know of, no one taught her all that. It's crazy how a 3-yo girl was teaching her over-twenties aunties on how to use the iPad effectively and in a time-saving methods that she knew how. Heh.

One of the things that made me wow are some of the syllabuses that they offer. My top 2 favorite has got to be the Coding and Robotics.

In Coding, you learn how to create your own game from scratch and in Robotics, you learn how to assemble a robot and program them to move and do all sorts of robotics thing.

I had the opportunity to have a hands-on on the MBOT and boy, it was so interesting and I didn't even like engineering/robotics thing.

It was super easy to assemble, with the manual instruction given, and what helps most is definitely the step-by-step photos. It's very direct and very user friendly to children from age 7 yo and above. I was fairly impressed to say the least, but I kept my cool of course. 

My robot was done within 45 minutes. I think this is one of the longest time someone takes to assemble the MBOT. Okaylah, I will admit that I was quite noob in this but not anymore! I suddenly feel like I could be an engineer - a change in my profession perhaps. 

What I really like about the concept that Chumbaka brings is the involvement of the individuals. Imagine if I had to sit through a class of 5-hours just looking at slides and listening to the 'lecturer', I would have fallen asleep before the first-hour even passed. 

With Chumbaka, right from the start of the 'classes', students are already getting their hands on the robots or items that they sign up to learn. No sitting down staring at white screens. That way of learning do not work anymore. I actually learnt a lot about robots and stuff because I actually did them myself. It was not, "I heard about this..", it becomes "I did this.."

It's a very accomplished feeling if I can add that. 

May I just say that if you have all the intentions in the world to get unique gifts and running out of ideas on what to give to your children or nieces/nephews for Christmas presents, MBOT would be a perfect gift. In fact, they have a few learning kits (other than MBOT) that you can get for them! Also, if you really care about the future of the children in your clan, then send them to Chumbaka classes! It's like sending them to tuition classes but way more fun kind of classes where they get to create their own Super Mario game from scratch or assemble a robot that they can call their own! 

Don't buy for them gifts that are ready to be used. Get a gift that requires them to build on their own. That way, you help in their learning skills.

This is definitely better than having them glued to the iPad all-day err-day. Oh and did I mention also that they have special classes during school holidays? 

Tell me and I forget.

Show me and I remember.

Involve me and I understand.

If you are interested to know more, click CHUMBAKA and get more information in their website. You for sure will not regret this.

If you are more of a Facebook person, here's another link to CHUMBAKA's FB page. Feel free to ask more questions because when you ask, you learn more (quote from yours truly heh).

The capacity to learn is a gift.

The ability to learn is a skill.

The willingness to learn is a choice.

SHILLS Purifying Peel-Off Mask.

So, recently when I was social-mediaing on Facebook, I kept seeing videos of different girls with black mask on their face everytime I scroll down.

Talk about effective video advertisement because I actually clicked on the video after many times seeing the shadow of it.

I got very curious and so I went on and purchased it. Yep.

When I clicked on the video, it auto-route me to a page called Nova Stuff and from there, more videos of this peel-off black mask.

The funny thing was when I was in the page, this is how the product looked like.

I didn't pay attention to it before but I did after I received the product few weeks later. There were few differences to what I saw online.

Photo above is from the internet and below is from yours truly.

• Nova Stuff's website shows no brand whatsoever on the peel-off mask product. The one that came in was from SHILLS. They black-out the brand probably because they don't want people to go other websites to compare prices or in my case, if I knew that it was SHILLS, I would have gone to Lazada via ShopBack and get more discounts. 
• They even changed the small caption color below the word Black Mask. 

I paid a total of RM90.13 for this tube of black mask that I believe works way better than all the other blackhead-removals that we've tried over the years. Heh. 

In a way, I felt that Nova Stuff is like trying to 'con' people to buy things in their website, letting users think that this is one of their product and you can only get them at their website. Or maybe I was the only one who thought of it like that. Then again, why do you need to hide SHILLS on the tube? 

I just don't get it. 

Never again on Nova Stuff. 

When it arrived, I got my sisters and mom to try it too. Good things must share right? I really wanted this to work because I just cannot find others and waste more money.

I felt that this was very expensive at first but all the videos and reviews made it so convincing and easy for me to click 'Confirm Purchase'.

And it worked! 

It actually pulled out most (if not all) of the blackheads and whiteheads. I was amazed to be honest. I didn't think I would see so clearly all the heads on that black mask! 

So geli but satisfying at the same time! 

Thank you SHILLS. Now I have a favorite blackhead-removal mask - SHILLS Purifying Peel-Off Mask! 

Can you just look at the photo above? Can you see all that tiny poles-lookalike!? It really works. Worth the RM90.13 okay. Not wasting money because it really works!

It's also very easy to apply. To make it more effective, you can wash your face and then take a warm towel and wipe around the area that you want to apply this SHILLS Purifying Peel-Off Mask so that the pores will slightly be opened. 

Then, just apply on the desired area and wait for it to dry. Don't put too little though because it's very hard to see it and also maybe it won't be able to stick onto the heads. Yeah. Just be fairly generous with the gel. 

I love this product and highly recommend it! 

Till then, bye now. 

Travel with AREX from Seoul Station to Incheon International Airport.

Who wants to know the fastest and most convenient way to get to Incheon International Airport from Seoul Station?

If you don't want to know, then you can go read other things already. Hah.

If yes, then stay with me okay.

The answer to the question is by AREX, also stands for Airport Railroad Express. The name itself actually explains all already. This is a non-stop subway ride from Seoul Station to Incheon International Airport vice versa. That means no wasting time.

It takes about 45 minutes and it's so convenient because you don't have to carry your luggage up and down compared to taking a taxi or other normal subway rides.

For us, this was ideal.

Price per adult: 14,800 krw = RM52

The first train begins at 6:26am in the morning and last one at 10:00pm. Eh please ah. They take their time very seriously so if you are a someone who is always late to everything, you may not want to be late for this train ride.

Actually even if you miss the timing, you can still change it to the next timing, I think. Unless you miss the last train ride la then no one can help you already.

Also right, if you are flying with Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Jeju Airlines, you can check-in your luggage at Seoul Station itself so you don't need to carry your loads everywhere. You can settle all the check-in matters at Seoul Station itself. No need to rush some more.

For us, somehow we got the wrong timing info, so when we got to the airport, it was actually a bit too late for us to do the check-ins then the security stations etc. The lady behind our check-in counter was so good that she did not only give my sister, brother in law and Sha Lynn the express VIP passes, but also to Koay and myself.

This express VIP pass is usually for senior citizens, pregnant woman, celebrity and other important people.

When it was my turn at the immigration counter, the man looked at me and asked why I have this VIP pass. I was a bit lost because I did not know what to say. I just pointed at my sister (who had already cleared the immigration) and said, "Family!".

The immigration man rolled his eyes.

WHATTT!

So rude please.

Anyways, we ran to the gate and there were still humans everywhere so okaylah, not so bad.

So yes, I highly recommend taking AREX because you just never know what will go wrong at the airport. Always be early at the airport. ALWAYS.

Bye now. 

How to Travel from Seoul to Busan with a Korail Pass.

This was one of my assigned task during our recent family trip to Seoul and Busan. 

We didn't want to travel to Busan via flights because it was a lot more expensive compared to other mode of transportation, which in this case is via rail. 

We could have gotten the flight tickets from Gimpo Airport (not from Incheon Airport) to Busan at about RM200 per adult but the flight departs at night from Seoul and early in the morning from Busan, hence the cheap price. So, this is highly not advisable unless of course you don't mind spending RM500 for a good timing flight. 

In my case, I googled and found (or maybe Rachel found it and told me. Heh) that there's this train ticket that we may purchase online to go to Busan, directly from Seoul. 

It's surprisingly very simple to book the Korail pass for our Busan trip. 

You can click here and have a look yourself. 

Let me summarize for you what this Korail Pass is and its basic terms & conditions:

• It is strictly for foreigners, tourist and non-Koreans only. 
• If you are a foreigner/tourist and you plan to stay for more than 6 months, this is NOT for you. You can go find out more on the Happy Rail Pass. 
• With Korail Pass, you will have unlimited access to the standard seats on various trains for the amount of days you purchase.
• Access to trains such as; KTX, KTX-Sancheon, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa and Nuriro.
• Reminder that this Korail Pass is for standard seats only (for trains mentioned above), NOT valid for First Class seats, metro and tourist trains. 
• Korail Pass must be used in consecutive days. This means that if you travel from Seoul to Busan on 1-May, your Korail Pass will be valid for the next however many days you buy (for our case, 3 days).
• Trip from Seoul - Busan takes approximately 4 hours, plus minus.

Okay, now let me show you how to get this Korail Pass from the booking process until redeeming it at the counter and being on the Korail train itself. 

There are only 8 steps to this so pay attention please. I put in a lot of effort for this. Heh. 

STEP 1

You obviously would want to know how much a Korail Pass will cost per person so here it is or you may go direct to their website (in case they update their pricing).

My table conversion is based on that 30 April's exchange rate, which is 1,000 won = RM3.50 // RM1.00 = 285.7 won.

Do take note that:

• Children below 4 years old may travel for free with a fare-paying adult above 12 years of age. 
• For children who are 4 - 12 years old, they are to be charged 50% of the adult fare.
• You will notice that there are few types of Pass offered:
• Normal Pass - for adults and children
• Saver Pass - for groups of 2 - 5 people travelling on the same itinerary.
• Youth Pass - for youths aged 13 - 25 OR anyone holding an International Student Identification Card (ISIC)

If the above pricing per person works for you, then keep scrolling down to see the next step okay. 

STEP 2

Make a reservation for yourself and your fellow travelers in the website. 

The important thing about this online reservation is that you fill in all your (booker) details correctly, especially your passport number and credit card information. 

STEP 3

After you have filled up accordingly all the needed information, you will realize your credit card will not be charged yet. 

You will receive an e-ticket via a Korean written email. 

Print the e-ticket and keep it with you as you will need it to redeem for your real Korail tickets.

Take note that you have to redeem the Korail tickets before 180 days (about 6-months) from the date of the reservation, if not all bookings made will be automatically cancelled. There may be a cancellation fee when you book from overseas, so yeah. 

It's wiser to make Korail bookings after you confirm your flights and hotels. That way, you won't risk paying the cancellation fee. 

STEP 4

Arrive in Seoul for your planned getaway. 

There are two places (that I know of) that you can redeem your Korail tickets and they are mentioned below. Please take note on their operating hours, especially at Incheon International Airport. 

We arrived very late at night and most of the vendors' shops are closed, so we only managed to redeem the Korail tickets the next day at Seoul Station. 

Where to redeem Korail (KR) tickets:

• Incheon International Airport (Opens all year round, business hours: 7am-9pm)
• Incheon Airport Railroad Information Centre, located outside of the Arrival Hall along the long-stretched booths for transportation modes, portable internet and more. If not mistaken, it's very close to Gate 8 and 9. 
• Airport Railroad Travel Centre, located at B1.
• KTX Centre, located at B1.
• Seoul Station 
• Information Centre, right in the middle of the station.

When redeeming the Korail tickets, the Korail officer will need all the passports (owner of passport must stand nearby so that the officer may check and verify your face). Booker of the Korail tickets must also give to the officer your credit card that you have used in the online reservation.

This will usually take up about 15 minutes, of course depending on the number of travelers. 

The Korail tickets will look like this. Good quality kind of card.

STEP 5

After you redeem from one of the Travel Centre listed above (you're welcome :)), you will need to exchange the temporary cards with the real tickets at the Korail counters, which is located at Seoul Station, because well, you will be taking the Korail train from there. 

This is where you will need to choose the departure time that you want. Again, please double-confirm the time when you are there because they may have changed it every now and then or something.

If I'm right, their departure time to Busan from Seoul Station is every 30 minutes. More details here. Just key in your departure date and information needed, you will be able to see the list of departure time that you can select.

If you plan to travel to Busan from Incheon International Airport via Korail, then you can see their timetable here (6 trips per day).

So, the final Korail tickets that you will need to keep (to pass to Korail's train conductor later) will be in long-ish paper kind, like the receipt that you will receive when you pump car petrol with credit card yeah.

The officers at Korail counters are quite good at their English language so it should not be an issue for communication if you have questions to ask them. Do use simple English though.

If not, then just google your questions. Most likely you will find the answer there, or you can comment below and I will try my best to answer you based on my experience okay.

When you receive your Korail tickets, the officer will explain to you on which train you are to take and which platform it would be at.

We almost got up to the wrong train/deck because it was pretty confusing la the numbers. Do double check with any locals nearby if you are on the right track. Heh.  

STEP 6

Once you have done all the ticketing stuff, you may proceed into the Departure area, and start looking around for takeaways!

That's if you think you will get hungry during that 3 hours-ish journey. They have food on-board the Korail train but of course it will be a lot more pricier, and they only sell basic snacks like buns and crackers. Yes, got coffee and tea also.

So, you may want to walk around inside Seoul Station at the Departure Hall to get some bento set or sushi rolls, which we had that was so yummy.

STEP 7

Get to the designated platform early and if can, get to your designated car and seat too.

The Korail train leaves on time okay. No such thing as wait for 5 more minutes. Go means go already.

But don't worry, because if you miss the train, you can always go back to the counter and ask them to change to the next timing with no extra charges. Best is you don't miss the train at all la.

In the train, there's two ways of seat placement. One is facing the direction the train goes and the other the opposite way. So, if you can get motion sickness, request for the direction-facing at the ticket counter.

STEP 8

Enjoy the ride. There isn't much great scenic views along the way, so just relax and use your electronic devices. Yes, free wifi on board too :) Heh. Or take shameless selfies and snapchat all the way.

Enjoy Busan, because it is one of the best, most relaxing place I've ever been to and it's probably because of the airbnb place that we've booked, which was the biggest, nicest crib ever.

That post will come soon I hope.

Bye now. 

My SkinnyMint Story.

Many weeks ago, I posted a photo on Instagram on this Teatox thing that I was going to try but I didn't. I postponed it till today. Reasons why so:

• I wasn't feeling well at that time so it would defeat the whole purpose of me finding out whether it will work because I would be feeling so blehh. 
• I was going to have my period in 1 or 2 days time so the bloating on my tummy was probably due to the blood still inside me, waiting to gush out (TMI boys).
• I was tied down with a lot of work stuffs and will most likely skip a tea or two because there isn't much space left in my memory drive.
• Most important of all, I didn't feel like I wanted to experiment anything that time.
• No mood.

So here I am now, feeling all ready to try this SkinnyMint experiment. 

What made me go for this experiment?

I have always felt really bloated ever since I went through the abdomen surgery and I've always looked for ways to reduce them. Nothing really worked. I suspect that when the doctors took my intestines to clean them (appendix perforated and toxin infected the whole area), they did not do a good job in placing them like how God had placed them in the beginning, hence the bloating that is so annoying. 

Or maybe those are just fats and I have a good excuse because of the intestines placement. Heh. 

I don't know from where I saw the advertisement on a Black Friday that they were offering a bunch of discounts based on a wheel. All I did was click 'SPIN' and before I knew it, I got a 20% discount on any purchase. 

Clever move really. 

I went into the website and chose the poison. 

That price, less 20% = RM75.92 (no shipping fee whatsoever).

The purpose of this tea is to help me (or you) to detox, with the tea that contains all natural ingredients. No nonsense in the mini bags okay. 

The Started Pack comes with 14 mini bags of Morning Boost Tea (one every morning for 14 days) and 7 mini bags of Night Cleanse Tea (one every two days).

It's such an expensive tea so I obviously not gonna spend more than RM100 to test this out. I think RM75.92 is a good price to see if this works. 

So here goes.

B E F O R E / D U R I N G

The first two days when I started on SkinnyMint tea, I went to toilet like ten thousand times I think and it's probably not solely because of the tea. I don't usually take in a lot of liquid so I guess by doing this, my kidney feels like it needs to be processed even more or something. Hah. 

So, I am supposed to drink the Morning Boost Tea every morning during breakfast and the Night Cleanse Tea every two days. 

One thing I realized about the Morning Boost Tea is that it opens up my appetite to eat breakfast. I usually don't eat anything in the morning, but somehow the tea makes me want to take at least a light breakfast, like a sandwich or something. So, I am guessing that it's good cos people always say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

The Night Cleanse Tea is the bomb dei. 

Here's why.

It's not as nice to drink, maybe because of the herbs combo. Everytime when I have to drink it, I went, "Ughh!" The next day, confirm sure got output. 

The first few times, there were watery and then it slowly became more solid. The tummy aches first yes, that's how you know you need to do number 2. 

A F T E R 

It claims that it can reduce bloating, and I did realized that since I started on this tea experiment, I have been burping and farting a lot, so I guess it is doing what it says it will do. Reduce the bloating by getting rid of all the air inside. I have been struggling with air in my tummy since the surgery, so this tea actually makes me feel better.

In terms of detoxing, I don't think it's super effective. That's for me though. I know there are a lot of people who consumes a cup of coffee (minimum that is) every single day and not have any sleep-deprived effect or something, but for me, when I started taking the Morning Boost Tea everyday, I realized I have some minor trouble sleeping at night. 

I really don't know if it is related. 

Last year, I took a cup of green tea every single day and I had few days in a row of not getting any proper sleep. It was only when I stopped the green tea craze that I had good sleep again.

Also, I feel that my number 2 has been really hard and a pain (in the behinds!) to go through and I feel it's because I've been consuming too much tea. I feel only lah, no scientific evidence all. 

So, I have since stopped the tea and I felt normal again, sort of.  

And, I was really scared that I can only do number 2 whenever i have the Night Cleanse Tea. On my first week of trying it, I will only poop when I have the tea the night before. Now, I poop almost everyday without the help of Night Cleanse Tea.

It may work for others, but for me I think I will give it a pass. No more for me. So expensive some more. Heh. It was a good experiment nonetheless. 

Now I know that no amount of tea or slimming pills (not that I've tried before) can help make my body be more toned. It's all gonna be through hardwork in the gym and exercise. Such a difficult truth to swallow. 

So, here's my two-cents on SkinnyMint Tea. 

Ohh I also took like before-and-after photo but looks same to me only so I shall just not post it here. Heh. 

Wedding Update 7: Bridal Package from My Dream Wedding.

UPDATED AFTER THE WEDDING: 

We both agreed with My Dream Wedding was one of the big mistakes that happened - I was super quick to say yes to taking the package from them just because they looked really promising and their shop looked amazing with the dresses on display - only to find out later that whichever wedding gowns you choose that is on display is upon extra charge. Also, I pointed to a dress that I liked and asked if I could have that as part of the package and she gave me a yes. When it was our turn to choose the dresses, they told me that this dress has been off the shelf for so long already. Heh. 

Not only that, we were not allowed to enter the "room" that keeps all their gowns. I only shared with them what some of my preferences were and they were the ones who will bring out the gowns one at a time. I remembered trying less than 15 pieces and they told me that was it. 

Despite screwing with our travelling plans and time in KL, they didn't offer to compensate or add anything. Even when I needed to change a gown last minute, they went ahead to charge me about RM1,000. Customer service, zero. 

Let's not get to the photography itself. Many times, we told the photographer the kind of photos we wanted and not want (like at the beach kind of photo), he insisted that we go ahead and take - wasted our time and energy seriously. 

So, in summary, I will not recommend My Dream Wedding to any couples out there. NEVER. 

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I'm starting to feel that we got a very good deal. I may be wrong though. They may have given more upgrades and complimentary items to other couples. Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I doubting this package? It's already too late now because we've paid for everything already! Oh well. We are happy with what has been given to us. 

I hope this is helpful for all brides-to-be in the future. Something for you all to compare, and hopefully, also successfully demands for more upgrades/complimentary items :)

Also, I will be sharing with you on the overall comments and feedback that I've received since I posted on this. All from people that we know of personally and from our experiences of course :)

Later on that below.

My Dream Wedding @ Bridal Fair Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang
13-14 February 2016

PRE-WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT

Inclusions:

Kuala Lumpur or Penang or any overseas location (if my money grows on tree)

Service of a professional photographer and a make-up artist

3 Deluxe wedding gown

1 Selected Swarovski wedding gown

2 set of tuxedos

1 hand bouquet (artificial flowers)

1 bridal make-up with 4 hairdos

All accessories  and hair veil available for photoshoot day only

Fake eyelashes (the only bridal shop at the bridal fair that includes this)

A selection of 40 poses from 150 shots

40 selected photos in digital file (soft-copy)

12' by 12' wedding album (10 pages - 40 poses) - Cover stand-alone album from HK

8' by 12' soft diamond album (19 out of the 40 selected poses)

24' by 30' printed photo with desired frame

10' by 14' table top photo with desired frame (2 pieces)

50 pieces of 4R (5 out of selected 40 poses)

Exclusions:

Transportation service

Toll and bridge fee

Entrance fee to selected locations (if needed)

Body Foundation

Ampoule (acts like a primer, to hold make-up for a longer time)

ACTUAL WEDDING DAY

Inclusions:

1 Platinum wedding gown

2 Deluxe wedding gown

2 set of tuxedos

2 set of accessories

1 set of car decoration

20' by 30' signature roll for guest

1 DVD slideshows (chosen 40 poses)

Exclusions:

Make-up and hair-do

Body Foundation.

Ampoule (acts like a primer, to hold make-up for longer time)

White bow shirt for groom

Nude bra for bride

It is the most common thing that people shared with us and that would be on the extra expenses that you will find yourself having to pay, that ranges from a higher category of dress that you want or the more photos that you would want to have. Something like that. 

Be very careful with all the extra charges because before you know it, it could mount up to the same cost with the package original price. 

However, we were told by Bennie on some of the things that is not given and will be charged if you choose to have it. 

Extra soft-copy with touch up (RM100 per pose)

Request to change gown after confirmation (RM300 per piece)

Photo-shooting on Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday (RM250) - waived for us yay!

Extra poses into album and soft-copy with touch up (RM160 per pose).
Early collection of photos in advance (RM500) 

TOTAL DAMAGE: RM4,988 (GST included)

Now that you have known of all the items that is part of the RM4,988 package, I bet you also want to know if the "extra charges on everything" is really true or it's just something that only some people will experience.

Based on our experience, this is very true. I don't know if the consultants earn extra income by up-selling their dresses or photos and even if they don't, they sure seemed really pumped up to get people to pay more.

And I would like to believe that this does not happen to only My Dream Wedding because my sister was with another bridal brand and same case also. Friends using other bridal brands also gave the same advice so I guess this must be the standard "sales & marketing" tactic in the bridal industry.

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Number 1

My Dream Wedding:
Wedding gowns displayed on the shelves are free to choose as part of the package. 

Friend:
All photo-shoot gowns are kept in a room and we're not allowed to go in to choose. They will take them out, batch by batch.

Me:
Wedding gowns displayed outside are only to be selected for actual day wedding, and not for pre-wedding photo-shoot. Extra RM1,000 will be charged if you wish to select from shelves for photo-shoot. We obviously did not choose any from the outside.

Summary:
They tend to be very general with the verbal offerings/deals. ASK MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

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Number 2

My Dream Wedding:
After all upgrades/additional items mentioned, they casually mentioned about an additional signature roll that they will give just for you. 

Friend:
Yes, we have that.

Me:
Yes too. We realized that we didn't need the signature rolls (which by the way comes in either pink or purple) and asked to change it with a table photo frame. 

Summary:
It's not just for you. Don't be naive, like us. Hah. IT'S ALL PART OF THE PACKAGE ALREADY!Change with another item if you don't need the roll.

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Number 3

My Dream Wedding:
We will upgrade the current big frame to a bigger one and two more smaller frame for table top showcase.

Friend:
They gave me one big frame if I remembered correctly. 

Me:
We were given 1 big and 2 small table top ones, as promised.

Summary:
This one may be dependent on the salesperson that served you. I think in this case we may be given more from others? Again, it may be the same as others.

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Number 4

My Dream Wedding:
You can choose 1 Swarovski wedding dress for the pre-wedding photo-shoot, upgraded from Deluxe.

Friend:
They did not give me any Swarovski wedding gown.

Me:
They presented to us 5 Swarovski wedding dress options to choose from, of which I chose one, after trying all five.

Summary:
They may have again casually mentioned about it. So, you must REMEMBER WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TOLD AND ASK FOR IT. 

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Number 5

My Dream Wedding:
In Malaysia, you can opt to take your pre-wedding photos either here in Penang or in KL. Discussion will be made in KL office if you wish to do it there.

Me:
Okay! As excited as we were, they did not mention anything about photographer and makeup artist having no transport. They only just say 'transportation service is not included' to which of course we understood as our own transport. Turns out, we actually have to fetch their crews around.

Summary:
ASK MORE QUESTIONS. DO NOT ASSUME IT'S PROVIDED JUST BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT. 

I'm beyond thankful that people shared their experiences with me, because if not, we wouldn't have known about having to transport their photographer and makeup artist, using our own car yes. 

This is actually not like a really bad comment. It's just they should have talked us through on this. 

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Number 6

My Dream Wedding:
Try the wedding dresses and choose the one you like for the actual wedding day, and we will book it for you.

Friend's Direct Friend:
A week before our wedding, they called and told us that the dress we originally booked earlier has been booked by other couple and that we had to choose another dress, which also means additional costs. We ended up paying extra RM6,500 because it was a week before the wedding and we panicked. 

Me:
This sounds insane. This is so not right and this is not the way to earn money okay. Now that we've been warned on this, we are making sure that we book our dresses earlier and make sure this doesn't happen by writing it out on the deal after choosing the dress. If not, I'm going to call all my lawyer friends on this. Hah. Judson, be on a standby okay? Heh. 

Summary:
BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THEIR 'PROMISES'.

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Number 7

My Dream Wedding:
Promised that the exact location that we wanted to have our photoshoot at was available and need no prior appointment or entrance fee.

Me:
You can read the entire post on the incident here. Madness. 

Summary:
I think they were taking things quite lightly and not double-check on these locations. You should make sure with the team. 

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Number 8

My Dream Wedding:
Choosing gowns for actual day ceremony and dinner. 2 pieces from normal selection and 1 from Platinum series. Groom gets 2 sets of tuxedo. 

Me:
I knew what color I wanted so it was easier to narrow down the dresses. I saw one that I realy really loved but was told that someone else have booked it. Boo! So, proceed to try on other dresses and felt that they didn't have a lot of choices. Most gowns were kept in a room and only staffs can enter the room. The gowns displayed outside is quite limited, especially the Platinum series one. I left the shop feeling like there should be more dresses that I could choose from. Maybe because of the color that I chose. Hm.

For the tuxedos, please do not expect to get the nice formal typical type of tuxedo. It's either long tail tux or patterned tux. Not many choices to choose from to be honest.

Summary:
You should maybe have other colors in mind when selecting the dresses as they really do have quite limited choices, and I wouldn't say that their designs are spectacular. I was not very impressed. 

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Number 9

My Dream Wedding:
Making appointments for photo-choosing and gown-selecting. 

Me:
It was quite difficult for us to make date/time appointment as we both only can go after 530pm on weekdays and they are usually full on weekends, but I was quite impressed on their service because they were very helpful to make it work for both of us, so win.

Summary:
I think their business is doing really well because there's always so many people in and out of the shop whenever we were there. However, their service is pretty good. I like! 

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Number 10

My Dream Wedding:
Making appointments for photo-choosing and gown-selecting. 

My sister:
You will find it very difficult to choose photos within the limit and they will sell to you per piece basis and offer you "special" package. 

Me:
This was so funny. There were so many of you who warned us on this and told us that it's almost impossible to choose only 40 photos and once we both disagree, they will come out with special offers. Thanks to you guys, we were mentally prepared to choose only 40 photos. The consultant tried to convince us on some photos that we didn't want because we got chun-chun 40 photos. She even tried to sell us a special package of RM1,000 for a huge plain light brown wood frame with 10 extra photos. SIAU MEH! We were shocked at the price that she mentioned. She lowered it down to I think about RM300 but it was a no for us. We were not going to spend more money on this. Hello. We already spent RM5,000 on this entire thing so no thanks.

Summary:
Before you select the photos with your better-half, please discuss and agree on what you guys really want. It will really help with the entire process. It's like once both of you are on the same page, no one else can be featured in that page. Stand strong people! :)

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I guess if we could give a summary of it, we won't say we hate to the core of the services provided by My Dream Wedding. I think they are not perfect and they are probably not looking into becoming the best bridal brand in Penang. I think they have accepted too many clients that they should because their dresses seems to always be very limited due to the reason 'someone else have booked it'.

I don't know. I may not be fair to them by saying that.

I have people emailing me to ask on whether they should choose My Dream Wedding and it's the one question that I cannot give an answer to.

I feel that people will most likely be drawn to them because of the posh image that they try to portray. Just a look at their shops and you will feel like this bridal company confirm is famous/popular/well-to-do and with the price that they offer, you will feel like it's a good catch. 

Is it really a good catch? 

If I was given another choice, I would survey around more before deciding. They won my vote (in the beginning) because they took us to their shop and showed us all the fancy dresses and their 'quite-glamour' looking shop. Immediately I felt so princess-ish. Hah. 

But all is good with us because we're not haters like that. Heh. 

If you feel like this is the one, then this is the one. Despite all the negative feedback from people, you just need to make sure you do your part and be very careful because all bridal shops tend to have the same 'behavior'. Hah.

ENJOY EVERY BIT OF THIS PLANNING OKAY?

Fun times ahead :)

I decided to update on this post with more experience-sharing so you will not go through the same thing we did. Despite all the things that we went through with them, I think in the end it's where you stand and how you "take care" of yourself that will make all the difference. Heh. For our case, I'm thankful that we're not the kind of people who will demand for a lot of things when they screw something up or show angry faces whenever they sort of disappoint us.